Managing sickness absence successfully (webinar)

We all know that managing sickness absence successfully leads to a more productive and engaged workforce. But putting successful absence management into practice is another matter, especially given the extra challenges posed by the pandemic.

In XpertHR’s 60-minute webinar, which took place on Wednesday 2 March 2022, Laura Merrylees, senior employment law editor at XpertHR, and Huw Cooke, senior associate at Burges Salmon, guide you through the nuts and bolts of effective sickness absence management before going on to discuss some of the tricky challenges that can arise.

This webinar will help you to:

• understand the process of managing both short-term sickness absence and long-term sickness absence;
• recognise the relationship between sickness absence, disability and your obligations as an employer;
• tackle common hurdles, including uncooperative employees;
• get the most out of instructing occupational health advisors; and
• handle Covid-related sick pay issues confidently, including whether it is permissible to withhold company sick pay for individuals who are unvaccinated.

It also guides you through some difficult but common scenarios, including sickness absence that commences after a performance process has started, and managing an absent employee whose lifestyle outside work appears inconsistent with their sickness.

The webinar includes a Q&A session. Watch on-demand

Webinar presenter and speaker

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Laura Merrylees is a senior employment law editor at XpertHR. Before joining, Laura had spent a number of years working in-house as an employment law solicitor where she advised on a broad range of employment law matters, including day-to-day HR issues and employment litigation. During her time in practice, Laura worked closely with HR professionals and senior management.

Huw Cooke is a senior associate in the employment team at Burges Salmon. A business immigration specialist as well as a very experienced employment lawyer, Huw regularly advises clients across a range of sectors – including technology, education, transport and infrastructure. You can find Huw on LinkedIn. 

Watch on-demand